Staff WriterPablo Ereno won the Challenge de Catalunya in properly theatrical fashion at Fontanals Golf Club, defeating Denmark’s Hamish Brown in a play-off after a final day that had just enough birdies, bruises and Spanish noise to rattle the flagsticks.
The 22-year-old Spaniard, playing in front of family, friends and a home crowd with lungs fully committed to the cause, closed with a six under par 66. That was enough to catch overnight leader Brown, who signed for a 68 as both men finished at 22 under par.
From there, the pair went back out to settle it the old-fashioned way: same course, same clubs, considerably more tension.
Ereno Finds One Last Gear At Fontanals
Ereno’s victory was not a serene procession. It was more like trying to reverse a sports car down a mountain road while the brakes were having a philosophical crisis.
He double bogeyed the par-three eighth, which could have pulled the plug on his title hopes. Instead, he kept coming, stacking birdies together and eventually finding his tenth of the day at the 72nd hole to force the play-off.
That closing birdie mattered. It turned a very good Sunday into a career-changing one.
“It feels great,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier to get my first HotelPlanner Tour win at home in Spain, it feels awesome.
“It makes it very special that I had my sister and my dad out here, a bunch of my friends too. I feel like I played a little bit better for them today.
“I knew we would have to shoot low today to win. I started well but made a couple of mistakes, a couple of bogeys and a double, every time I made a mistake I just tried to make birdies again.”
That last line tells you plenty. Some players spend Sundays protecting a score. Ereno spent this one throwing punches back at the course.
Brown Pushes Him All The Way
Hamish Brown had begun the final round with the lead and did not exactly hand the trophy over with a bow and a biscuit. His 68 was strong enough to reach 22 under par, and when both players birdied the first extra hole, the contest still had the look of one that might require floodlights and sandwiches.
The second extra hole finally separated them. Brown made bogey. Ereno made par. Job done, nerves survived, trophy claimed.
“Bryce (Easton) and Hamish played incredible today it was really competitive out there and I was glad to make it to the play-off, it was really fun.”
Fun, of course, is one word for it. Others might include exhausting, ruthless and mildly hazardous to the central nervous system.
A Rookie Season Gathering Serious Pace
This was Ereno’s first HotelPlanner Tour win, and it arrives during his rookie season. More importantly, it moves him to second place in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, sharpening his push for promotion to the DP World Tour.
There is a particular kind of education that only final-round pressure provides. Ereno had already received a stern lesson earlier in the season at the Jonsson Workwear Durban Open, where a late quadruple bogey damaged his chances when he was tied for the lead with two holes to play.
At Fontanals, he looked like a player who had remembered the scar but refused to let it swing the club for him.
“I’ve been playing pretty good this season, I have been practising really hard and the experiences I’ve had already helped me out there today.
“The Jonsson Workwear Durban Open hurt me, as I was tied for the lead with two to play and made a quadruple bogey on 17. I managed to stay patient today which helped me make those birdies at the end.
“I have been learning a lot about my game, which is what is important, as it will help me play better and hopefully play on the DP World Tour soon.”
That is the real value of the Challenge de Catalunya win. It was not merely a trophy. It was evidence that the bad memories are being converted into better decisions.
Road To Mallorca Race Tightens
Behind Ereno and Brown, South African MJ Daffue, Ireland’s Gary Hurley and England’s Frank Kennedy shared third place at 20 under par, two shots off the play-off mark.
Sweden’s Adam Wallin, Denmark’s Jacob Worm Agerschou and South Africa’s Bryce Easton finished tied sixth, one shot further back.
Daffue remains top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings, with Ereno now second. England’s Will Enefer sits third, while South Africans MJ Viljoen and Deon Germishuys occupy fourth and fifth respectively.
The HotelPlanner Tour now heads to Denmark for the Danish Golf Challenge at Odense Eventyr Golf Club in Odense, from May 21-24.
For Ereno, though, the next stop can wait a moment. At Fontanals, he gave the home crowd a Sunday finish with bite, nerve and a final act worthy of the noise. Not bad for a rookie still learning the road.
